My Last Days as a 39 Year Old

I'm turning 40 on Saturday! I can't believe it.....but I hear that 40 is the new 30 so I'm not stressing out too much. This past weekend we celebrated February birthdays with my family. My oldest sister and my niece also celebrate their birthdays in February.

I got some nice gifts.........especially from my boys. I have been without a cell phone for the last 9 1/2 months. I've definitely enjoyed being unreachable. I've also enjoyed seeing the looks on people's face when they ask for my cell number and I tell them I don't have one! It's really priceless. So, my hubby was kind enough to boost me into the 21st century with a nice phone.

Now that the nieces and nephew are older, it is rare for all of us to be together at family get-togethers. The older three work now and have busy schedules. My oldest niece was able to come at the very end.

Time to open gifts.

Since today is my last day as a 39 year old, I am off to enjoy this beautiful sunny day!

January Birthdays

Last month we celebrated January birthdays for my husband and nephew. The last time we did this our 10 year old was a little baby only 5 months old. It was nice celebrating the birthdays together once again.

Celebrating in January 2004

Celebrating in 2014

Jojo celebrating daddy and his cousin's birthday in 2004.

Jojo and Naynay hanging out with their Uncle Andy in 2014.

Time sure does fly! So much has happened in our lives in the past 10 years.

Blueberry - Buttermilk Pancakes

The boys and I had to stay home from church today. Jojo has an awful asthmatic cough going on and definitely needed to stay home today. Plus, I have not had decent sleep in over 4 nights. So, I thought I'd make some yummy pancakes. I decided to forgo Pinterest and pulled out one of my old cook books.

Blueberry-Buttermilk Pancakes
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornmeal (yah, cornmeal...I thought it was weird)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinammon
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup fresh blueberries

1. In a medium mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and set aside.

2 In another mixing bowl, stir together egg, oil, and milk. Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture until just moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

3. Now make the pancakes on your griddle!!

 From Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

The boys loved the pancakes and so did I! The blueberries definitely added the perfect wow to the pancakes. This batter doesn't make a whole lot of pancakes so if you want more I would double the recipe.

Top Book Picks For Valentine's Day

I was never a big Valentine's Day fan but once we had kids......that all changed. It's fun passing out Valentine cards, eating heart shaped candies, and reading fun books. Once mid-January rolled around I went to the library and checked out all the Valentine books they had. We've read a lot of them. Actually, my husband has read a lot of them to the boys. So, here are a few of our very favorites in no particular order.

5. Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine by Marjorie Sharmat

Who doesn't love Nate the Great? Nate the Great hates mushy stuff but one day he "spies" a big red paper heart taped to the outside of his dog's doghouse. Nate is on the case solving the mystery of who left the mush Valentine for his dog, Sludge. There's a surprise ending to the story! The boys loved this book and giggled a ton.

4. Olive My Olive by Vivian Walsh

It's a cute little love story about two cute little dogs. Our youngest is really into dogs right now so any story about a dog makes him happy. This story is actually really sweet.

3. Valentines's Day by Gail Gibbons

There are a ton of books in the library about the history of Valentine's Day and how to celebrate. This book in particular is just really concise and an easy read. My 10 year old likes these factual type of books more than my 6 year old.

2. Winnie the Pooh's Valentine by Bruce Talkington

I will always be a Pooh fan and this book didn't disappoint. Both boys have definitely outgrown Pooh Bear but they still enjoyed the story. Plus the illustrations as always are magical!!!

1. Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli

This was my favorite book. Even my husband said it was probably the best book he's read to the boys in a while. Mr. Hatch is a very lonely man but one day he receives a mysterious package with a pink bow. "Somebody loves you," the notes says! Mr. Hatch is floored and the package literally changes his life. I could tell you more but I don't want to ruin the story! I plan on buying this book because we all liked it so much!!!

San Fernando Mission

This past week we went on a field trip with our homeschool group to the San Fernando Mission. I've been there several times but since Jojo is in 4th grade and we're dutifully learning about California History it seemed like a great place to go.

So, here goes a brief history lesson:

- The San Fernando Mission is number 17 out of 21 missions.
- In 1769 the Spaniard priest, Juniper Serra, set sail from Baja California to begin his "Sacred Expedition" of converting American Indians into Catholics by establishing missions.
- Mission San Diego is the very first mission that was established.
- Missions could never be established anywhere else in the States because the Indians in other parts were more aggressive and war like. The Indians in California were known as "pacifist".
- San Fernando Mission was best known for their wines!
- San Fernando Mission was also the 2nd wealthiest mission.
- Did you know that Bob Hope is buried there? According to the docent, when Bob Hope and his wife would return to their home in Toluca Lake via their private jet, the pilot would always have to fly over the San Fernando Mission in order to begin his descent into the Van Nuys Airport. Every time the plane flew over the mission, Bob Hope would lean over to his wife and tell her, "We're home". She paid some big money to have him buried there considering the Mission is also a "sacred Indian burial ground".
- The Catholic church that is on the San Fernando Mission grounds has had to be rebuilt 4 times.

The wine cellar.

Exposed adobe wall.

A small portion exposed on the wall inside the convent. Original Indian painting.

The convent. The only original building left....it's facade has been updated over the original adobe.

The boys and their cute little friend.

We actually had our wedding pictures photographed here!

We enjoyed our trip but truthfully it did make me a little sad knowing how awful the Indians were treated by the Spaniards. Not to mention that they were basically forced to become Catholics if they wanted to live.

(I linked over at: Weekly Wrap - Up)